The night the fire came (and the miracle that followed)

As a kaleidoscope of glowing red sparks flew across the sky above us, we tried to get back to the house, finding it impossible to walk away from the dream home my father built for himself…but also finding it impossible to get any closer. Eventually we abandoned our posts and watched from the top of the hill as the flames raced across the hills.

Last night we fought a MASSIVE fire in Cape St Francis!

We had been soaking the area surrounding my father’s house with water since 3pm, and I had cleared out a small firebreak by cutting away some of the most flammable bushes. We balanced our hope precariously on these efforts, praying they would be enough! Turns out, with a little help from our friends, THEY WERE!

Despite being directly in the line of fire (excuse the pun), and at one point being surrounded by massive flames, the house is OK! Click the images below to read more details about what went down! Happy days!

The gathering point was the Seal Point Car Park. My friend Terri got me out of her warm car, saying “Nathan, you’ve got to take a photo of this view.” She was right, this is the photo. Full moon and fire sharing the horizon.

Thank you all of your beautiful people who took time to offer prayers and positive thoughts over the evening! Your comments on instagram, facebook and twitter are all utterly beautiful, THANK YOUUU!

I’ve had about an hour’s sleep, and am pretty exhausted. Gonna have a super chilled night tonight, in a house full of soot, but overall unharmed!